![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
great desert
Great Desert
Dinotopia | Backbone Mountains | Blackwood Flats | Forbidden Mountains | Northern Plains | Outer Island | Rainy Basin | Western Coast | World Beneath | Waterfall City
A large desert on the eastern side of the main island, the Great Desert takes up around a quarter of Dinotopia. Inside the desert is the Ancient Gorge and Red Rapid Canyon, as well as Canyon City and Pteros.
The desert itself survived the earthquake with very little damage. The Gorge and Canyons did not.
The Amu River begins in the Backbone Mountains and runs south through the Great Desert, and over thousands of years it has carved the Ancient Gorge and Red Rapid Canyon 5,800 feet deep into the earth. The Amu River continues even into the World Beneath, where it becomes the Subamu River.
The Ancient Gorge and Canyons are also home to the skybax.
This whole area was badly damaged, with rockslides and debris damming the Amu. The skybax nests have been severely hit, and the pteradons who guard the portal have been sent into a panic which makes them hostile to anyone who approaches.
Image references: [1]
Canyon City is built into the very sides of the the Ancient Gorge, with buildings often built into solid rock or built up from brick on the rocky ledges. Windows in Canyon City are small, and covered with paper instead of glass. Residents of the city move around using a network of trails and bridges that connects the buildings to each other.
On the narrow ledges above the city, cotton, peppers, and squash are grown.
Canyon City has been all but destroyed in one fell swoop. Massive rockslides have caused most of it to fall into the Amu, far below. What’s left isn’t much more than rubble and cracks in the stone, but in true Dinotopian fashion, the survivors are finding stable areas to begin their rebuilding. Aside from Volcaneum, most of the aid Dinotopia can spare has been sent here.
Image references: [1]
A small village north-east of Canyon City, Pteros is also home to Dinotopia’s skybax rookery.
Both fared better than Canyon City, though the rookery is currently all but deserted. Skybax riders are currently in high demand due to the need for fast communication all over the island; the only ones who have returned to the rookery are those ill, injured or too exhausted to fly.
Image references: [1]
The Portal is an entrance into the World Beneath. It is fed into by the Amu River and guarded by a cousin to the skybax—a species of pteradon just as intelligent, but more primal in their ways of living. They are particularly hostile to their skybax cousins, though they can be reasoned with.
Since the earthquake the portal has been destroyed. The Amu River has been dammed; there is no apparent way into the World Beneath from this avenue. If there is, it’s impossible to tell—the pteradons have become highly aggressive and attack anyone who approaches. Given the circumstances, the Dinotopians are not inclined to take the effort.
The desert itself survived the earthquake with very little damage. The Gorge and Canyons did not.
Amu River, Ancient Gorge, and Red Rapid Canyon
The Amu River begins in the Backbone Mountains and runs south through the Great Desert, and over thousands of years it has carved the Ancient Gorge and Red Rapid Canyon 5,800 feet deep into the earth. The Amu River continues even into the World Beneath, where it becomes the Subamu River.
The Ancient Gorge and Canyons are also home to the skybax.
This whole area was badly damaged, with rockslides and debris damming the Amu. The skybax nests have been severely hit, and the pteradons who guard the portal have been sent into a panic which makes them hostile to anyone who approaches.
Image references: [1]
![[1]](http://thenorth666.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/dinotopia_4.jpg){kind=link}
Canyon City
Canyon City is built into the very sides of the the Ancient Gorge, with buildings often built into solid rock or built up from brick on the rocky ledges. Windows in Canyon City are small, and covered with paper instead of glass. Residents of the city move around using a network of trails and bridges that connects the buildings to each other.
On the narrow ledges above the city, cotton, peppers, and squash are grown.
Canyon City has been all but destroyed in one fell swoop. Massive rockslides have caused most of it to fall into the Amu, far below. What’s left isn’t much more than rubble and cracks in the stone, but in true Dinotopian fashion, the survivors are finding stable areas to begin their rebuilding. Aside from Volcaneum, most of the aid Dinotopia can spare has been sent here.
Image references: [1]
![[1]](http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Canyon-City-dinotopia-817994_700_338.jpg){kind=link}
Pteros
A small village north-east of Canyon City, Pteros is also home to Dinotopia’s skybax rookery.
Both fared better than Canyon City, though the rookery is currently all but deserted. Skybax riders are currently in high demand due to the need for fast communication all over the island; the only ones who have returned to the rookery are those ill, injured or too exhausted to fly.
Image references: [1]
![[1]](http://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/4/f/a/b/fabb3a40-10c4-012d-b110-0050569428b1.jpg){kind=link}
The Portal
The Portal is an entrance into the World Beneath. It is fed into by the Amu River and guarded by a cousin to the skybax—a species of pteradon just as intelligent, but more primal in their ways of living. They are particularly hostile to their skybax cousins, though they can be reasoned with.
Since the earthquake the portal has been destroyed. The Amu River has been dammed; there is no apparent way into the World Beneath from this avenue. If there is, it’s impossible to tell—the pteradons have become highly aggressive and attack anyone who approaches. Given the circumstances, the Dinotopians are not inclined to take the effort.